Joined on 02/23/05
Pros: 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage (not quite but close enough), sd card slot for added external storage, usb adapter to use other devices. Does everything I need it to do. Root access straight out of the box. Plays video with bitrate >4mbps without issues. The usb adapter works for everything I've tried( hard drives, flash drives, keyboard, mice), with the exception of a usb floppy( I doubt most useres would even consider the need for that anyway).
Cons: Single core processor Supplied case doesn't fit properly (straps are spaced too far apart, tablet falls out easily, assuming you manage to get it to hold in the first place) Root access(suppose this could be a con depending on it's intended use/user) Usb floppy drives won't work properly. Doesn't seem to be any pre installed dictionary for spell check. Using the google talk app(pre installed) for voice/video chat results in horrible sound, it seems to pick up the sound from its own speaker and starts making that microphone squeal,(using a headset solves this problem). Only comes with 1 screen protector( still takes me a couple tries to get one on without bubbles)
Overall Review: Great buy for the price, don't think I would find anything better without spending twice the money. Already having root access saves me the trouble and opens up the ability to use a lot more apps. The size is slightly off standard(4.75 x 7.625) makng it more difficult to find a case that fits properly. Based soley on performance I would probably rate at 4/5. But the price earned it one more.
Hit or miss
Pros: Seagate was very quick with my RMA, took only 3 days from when I filed to get a drive at my door. Replacement drive works and performs well, consistent ~175MB for both sequential read and write speeds in a 6 years old pc with classic sata ports. No strange noises, ran drive diagnostics and everything looks kosher.
Cons: First drive arrived, plugged it in and it seemed to work fine, but was making noises that I wasn't comfortable with. Over the next week I tried to use it as normal(part of my media server), but didn't put anything on it that wasn't backed up elsewhere. I started noticing that while reading it would randomly hang(I'm sure this happened while writing data as well, but wasn't as noticeable for what I was doing with it. After about a week with the problem seeming to get worse, I started running tests on it, 4GB sequential read benchmarks would consistently fail at about 60%, then abort before the write benchmark could ever start. Tests for 2GB and under it would work, but the speeds were less than 1/2 of what my 2TB green Samsung drives perform at, not acceptable by any means. On to the drive diagnostics, the drive was well beyond the threshold for write failures and had already used up all of its spare sectors trying to remap the bad ones. Using seatools for dos it would immediately fail both the long and short tests and spit out and error code "B2A89E41" with no other explanation aside from "replace your drive".
Overall Review: Got the drive on sale for $99, RMA cost me the $10 that I saved on the sale price. Expected a good drive first time around, took a warranty replacement, but it seems that I have a good one now. If I run into issues down the road I'll update here.
Led off option?
Pros: Have not yet purchased these, but read through the reviews looking for someone commenting on the possability of an option to turn off the leds. The idea of switchable led mods intrigues me.
Cons: none so far
Overall Review: I like leds for the way they look and accent my system(i use some home-made led strips with an on/off switch currently), but don't currently have any fans with built in leds because i would rather not have them at all than to have them with no option to turn them off. If anyone could include in the review that they've left saying if there is(or isn't) a mode to run the fan with no active leds, that would be a great help to me making my decision on weather or not to buy these.
Decent Camera
Pros: Price, decent pictures, waterproof. Works as expected picture quality is comparable to the sony cybershot i bought last year for around $100. Had a lot of fun with this when i took my kids to a hotel over the holiday and got to play with the camera in the pool.
Cons: Battery life isn't great, but extra batteries are cheap enough i could have a spare for about $10. Takes about a second to actually focus before you take the picture, if you or the target is moving a blurry picture is the result. LCD screen doesn't show the pictures very well, look much better when loaded onto a computer.
Overall Review: Picked this up in early november for $60 shipped, overall I'm happy with it, well worth what i had spent on it. Replaced a sony cybershot that my son had dropped on the lens and jammed it so i needed something a little more durable and this fit just right. Probably wouldn't have bought this at the suggested price, but the deal i got was a steal.